Systems for monitoring the characteristics of water sources are critical to many industries. For example, such monitoring is required for many regulatory agencies such as the EPA and FDA. Often, water sources that are of interest are located in remote locations that are difficult to access by humans. Therefore, water monitoring is done by means of automated collection of samples by a sampler device. Automated remote sampling of water sources allows for sampling of water sources at varying times and locations. Traditionally, the remotely located samplers are delivered to their installed sites with a predetermined schedule for monitoring. For example, in one such water quality monitoring system a sampler may be installed at a remote Mississippi tributary with a preset sampling schedule of one sample every 12 hours. But there are several drawbacks to systems of this type. For example, one drawback is that the preset sampling schedule may need to be modified. Also, accessing the remote site may be difficult and expensive. In addition, the person performing the installation is often a contractor to the environmental engineer and, therefore, does not have the authority to make on-site modifications to the sampling parameters of the monitoring system.